sommeiller

Mama's Bidou: or "the paunch pillow". "Bidou" is baby talk for "tummy". Don't miss this list of French kiddy terms--including hop-là! ("upsy daisy") here.

sommeiller (so may yay)

    : to snooze, to doze

...not to be confused with un sommelier (a wine steward)

Audio File: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the French words in the example sentence, just below:
Download MP3 or Wav file

Le matin j'aime bien sommeiller un peu après que l'alarme ait sonnée.
In the morning I like to snooze a little after the alarm has rung.

*please see the comments section (beginning at Hannah's comment) about a grammar rule that has been trespassed in the above sentence... Current French allows one to get away with it... but proper French is rolling over in its grave (where it was momentarily buried) at the sight of the above phrase. 

 

A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

"The Snooze Alarm" 

I am tiptoeing through the dark with a steaming hot café au lait. I think I've stepped into a blanket... no, it is un peignoir that's been tossed onto the floor. I kick it aside, relieved not to have stumbled.

I reach across what I know is my husband's côté du lit. I feel the coffee cup being pulled away, thirstily....

I hear slurping. C'est six heures dix! I reply, announcing the hour.

As I head out to my next appointment (just a few sleepy rooms away), I hear, "Could you wake me again at 6:45?"

I make my way down the dark hall, minding the obstacles en chemin. I open my son's door. Same greeting, sans cafe au lait. After a live demonstration of the French verb rouspéter, Max grumbles: "Reviens dans 20 minutes." I consider the request, just as I have the previous one. And then... Attendez un moment! Wait just a minute here!

My pointer finger flies up to my forehead to begin wildly tapping on the thickening skin there. My lips flap furiously:

"Hey-oh! Est-ce que là (tap tap tap on the forehead) c'est marqué 'Snooze Button'?"

And, harrumph... triumph! I continue on down the hall, collecting my coffee en route. 

Le Coin Commentaires
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 Smokey and Mama Braise say, "Qu'est-ce que c'est un 'snooze button'?" Picture taken one year ago. How he's grown!

 Corrections in French and English are welcome and appreciated. Please hit the refresh button (F5 key) first--in case the corrections have already been incorporated)--then add your suggestion here, in the comments box.

French Vocabulary

le bidou = tummy 
*thanks to those who wrote in re "bidou" (suggesting "bidon" to be the correct term). Hmmm. Not sure what to do--as Jean-Marc insists that "bidou" is right. Perhaps it is a southernism? 

le café au lait = coffee with milk

un peignoir = bathrobe

le côté du lit = side of the bed

C'est six heures dix = It's 6:10
*thanks, Newforest, for giving the above term a "go ahead". And thanks, Jacqueline for the proper French version "il est... il est six heures dix" 

en chemin = along the way

rouspéter = to grumble

Hey-oh! Est-ce que là (tap tap tap on the forehead) c'est marqué 'Snooze Button'? = Hey! (tap tap tap...) Does it read "Snooze Button" here? (Or, "Hey! Do I look like a snooze button?")

***

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Near Tulette. A cabanon ultra chouette. Let's play dress up! What would you add to the lonely front porch, to the façade, to the windows and the doors? Would you put anything in the tree? Tell us in the comments box.

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